


Blondie

by asavoy1019



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:21:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29944422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asavoy1019/pseuds/asavoy1019
Summary: Beth starts the zombie apocalypse trailing behind Daryl and Merle. The two are reluctant to care for the girl, but soon come protective over her as they make their way through this new and crazy world.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & Merle Dixon, Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene, Merle Dixon & Beth Greene
Comments: 35
Kudos: 67





	1. When the bombs dropped

“Merle.. Merle.. what the fuck do we do?”

“Boy, what the hell you goin on about?” Merle drunkenly retorted as he put his hand against the brick wall so he could lean over to take a piss.

“People are fuckin’ dying, man. They’re dying and comin’ back.. and just eatin’ people. What the fuck do we do?” Daryl panicked as he paced back and forth down the alley next to the bar him and Merle had been drinking at. 

“Quit bein’ a little bitch about it, first off. People have always killed people. This ain’t no damn different,” Merle snorted, zipping his pants back up and turning to look at his brother like he was stupid. 

“Are you fuckin’ kidding me right now? You heard the TV in there,” Daryl flicked his arm in the direction of the bar, “They said it’s a national emergency and to get our asses home immediately!”

“Well little brother, I’m too shit-faced to drive. And you was matchin’ me shot for shot, so ain’t no way in hell I’m getting in the truck with you.” Merle told him with a chuckle.

Aggravated, Daryl yelled out into the dark alley, “Fuck!” He was pissed because he knew Merle was right. Any other night, he wouldn’t have drank so much, but today was the anniversary of their mom’s death. Even though they would never discuss it out loud, they both still felt the pain of it all these years later and had stopped at the bar on their way out of town before going on a weekend hunt.

“Will you calm your ass down-,” Merle had started to fuss, but was cut off by a loud emergency siren blaring throughout the city. 

“Shit. Shit. Shit! We gotta go, Merle. Come on, man, this shit’s got me sobered up enough. I can fuckin’ drive.” Daryl’s anxiety was through the roof as he shook with nerves. 

“Jesus Christ.. fine. If you’ll quit your bitchin’.” Merle tossed his keys over to Daryl as they took off towards the back parking lot where Merle’s truck was. 

Right as they were climbing in, a blood-curdling scream echoed across the empty parking lot. Both men froze before turning to look in the direction it had come from. Under the light of the street lamp in the corner of the lot, a man was pushed up against the pole, his arms thrashing out in defense at the man in front of him as he screamed for help. Daryl took a step in his direction, wanting to help stop the attack. Right as he moved, though, the attacker pushed forward and leaned in, taking a huge bite out of the man’s neck. His blood squirted everywhere and Daryl’s blood ran ice cold. Everything went quiet for a moment, then screams started coming from every direction all at once. Between the yelling, Daryl could make out quiet groans and snarls.

“Kid, get in the fuckin’ truck,” Merle hissed, now in a panic himself. 

Daryl stepped backwards and climbed into the drivers seat. When he slammed the door shut, the attacker turned and looked at them with blank eyes, blood covering his face as he chomped on his meal. He started stumbling towards them as Daryl slammed the keys in the ignition, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. He was closing in on the truck as Daryl tried to start it over and over, but to no avail. 

“Fuckin’ crank the sumbitch,” Merle fussed, his voice full of terror. 

“I’m tryin’ damnit!” Daryl yelled back, looking up to see the attacker about ten feet away, with a huge, bloody chunk taken out of his shoulder, coming at Daryl’s window. He twisted the key one more time and the engine finally roared to life. Before he could throw it into gear, a bloody hand slapped across Merle’s window, causing both men to nearly jump out of their skin at the new attacker.

“GO!” Merle yelled. Daryl slammed the shifter into drive, squealing out of the parking lot with neither of them looking back. 

Driving down the road was scary as hell. Cars were driving erratically, people were running out into the street at random, causing Daryl to swerve and hit his breaks more than once. Some people were walking slowly, covered in blood with bites taken out of them. The metallic smell seeped through the vents of the air conditioner. 

“Where we goin’, Merle?” Daryl looked to his brother. “Home? It’s what the TV said.”

Merle looked out of the window at their surroundings before shaking his head and bringing a hand to his mouth to chew on his finger nail. “Nah.. fuck that. It’s just four walls.. don’t wanna get boxed in by these fuckers. Stick to the plan.. go to the campin’ spot.”

“So we’re just gonna leave all our shit?” Daryl looked over to his brother in disbelief.

“Hey.. we got our weapons and some clothes.. don’t need shit else. ‘Sides.. it ain’t forever. Just until all this hell blows over.”

Daryl considered what Merle said for a moment. It was true, he could survive on what little they had with them. It wasn’t like he had a whole lot worth saving back at their house, anyway. But it was his stuff, things that he had worked hard for, and he didn’t like the idea of leaving it behind. He had been around for a few hurricanes and he knew how looters ran wild during emergency situations. Merle was right, though. He didn’t want to get boxed in and be surrounded by these dead people who suddenly weren’t dead anymore. Shifting the course of the vehicle, Daryl aimed to take them out of Atlanta and towards their camping spot. 

“I don’t get it.. the whole city seemed fine when we got to the bar.Why didn’t they warn us sooner?” Daryl questioned in disbelief.

Merle shrugged one shoulder before sighing, “I dunno little brother.. shit spreads fast, I guess.” He leaned forward to switch on the radio and flicked through the channels in hopes of some information. They were all dead silent, until one station finally came across the speakers, garbled and full of static. 

“Evacu-..... Atlanta.... -mediately... milit-... drop-... -ombs... contain-... infection-...”

Daryl’s eyes went wide as he looked down at the radio then over to his brother, “What the fuck did he just say?”

“They about to drop bombs, bro. Get us the hell outta.. LOOK OUT!” Merle reached out to brace himself against the dash as he looked ahead of the truck. 

Daryl quickly turned his sights back to the road in time to see a girl falling backwards onto the asphalt, trying to fight off one of the dead. He slammed on the brakes and swerved, narrowly missing her head. Before he could think on it, he threw the truck in park and was opening the door when Merle reached over to grab him.

“What the hell are you doin’?” 

“Can’t fuckin’ leave her like that, Merle.” Daryl jerked his arm out of Merle’s grasp before jumping out of the truck and racing back to her. She was screaming, trying to plead with her attacker to stop and attempting to push it away while avoiding its snapping jaws. Daryl ran up from behind it and grabbed it by it’s shirt and hair, throwing it off of her. He quickly offered his hand to help pull her up and as soon as she was standing, he was jerking her towards the truck. 

“Come on! We gotta go!” He yelled out over his shoulder, not giving her a chance to fight with him. Thankfully she followed his lead without saying a word. More snarls and screams could be heard coming from behind them, but Daryl couldn’t risk trying to help anyone else. Merle was already going to have his ass for risking their lives to help this girl. Pushing her in front of him, he shoved her into the truck and climbed in next to her, slamming the door shut right as the girl’s attacker reached out to grab him. Throwing the truck back into drive, Daryl sped off down the road.

“And just who the fuck is this?” Merle looked over the girl’s head to stare daggers at him.

“Shut up, Merle. The damn thing was on top of her.. couldn’t just leave her to die,” Daryl argued, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at his brother’s ignorance.

“Yeah so just fuck me, right? You don’t mind risking MY neck for some broad ya ain’t never met before.” Merle quipped back.

Choosing to ignore him, Daryl took a quick glance at the girl sitting next to him. She looked like she was in a state of shock. Her face was pale and her eyes were staring off into the distance. He could feel her whole body trembling from where their thighs were touching. 

“Hey,” he said as he nudged her lightly with his shoulder, trying to get her attention. She jumped from the contact as if she had completely forgot he was there and looked over to him with wide eyes. “Y’alright?”

The girl nodded her head slightly, like she was unsure of herself. “What’s goin’ on? That guy.. he should have been dead.. he.. he had a huge hole in his stomach.. but he just kept coming after me.” She looked so pitiful as she questioned him. He would have liked to bring some kind of comfort to her, but he didn’t have any good news to deliver.

Daryl turned down a street that, thankfully, seemed empty of the chaos. Sighing, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. He barely understood the situation himself. How was he supposed to tell it to someone else? “I dunno.. saw somethin’ on the TV ‘bout a national emergency.. dead people comin’ back to life and attacking the living. That’s all we know.” The girl looked back at him with her eyebrows knit together. He could tell she was expecting more information, but that was all he had.

“Ain’t all we know,” Merle piped up, and the girl jumped and looked over to him, having not realized he was sitting on the other side of her in her panic. “Radio said the military’s ‘bout to bomb Atlanta.”

The girl turned to Daryl with questioning, large eyes. Before she could say anything, Merle continued with irritation evident in his voice, “so we ain’t got time to be driving’ you home girly. We’re gettin the fuck outta dodge. Either climb out now, or you’re stuck with us,” he told her with a shrug to show he didn’t care either way. 

She sat quiet for a moment, taking in the information before mumbling, “Thanks.” She didn’t elaborate if she was thanking them for saving her or if she was thanking them for offering to get her out of the city, so Daryl just took it to mean that she was coming with them for now and kept driving.

When Daryl finally reached the road that would lead them out of the city, he was met with a road block of cars that were at a standstill. He cursed under his breath as Merle whistled, “Guess everyone had the same idea to get the hell out.”

“Fuck it.. I’ll turn back and try Peachtree,” Daryl said, throwing the truck in reverse. 

“Bet every road outta town is like this,” Merle shook his head in aggravation. Five minutes later, he was proven correct when Daryl was met by another traffic jam. Two blocked routes later, he was beyond frustrated.

“Fuck!” Daryl yelled as he slammed his hands on the steering wheel, feeling slightly guilty when the girl jumped. “Where the hell do I go, Merle?” He looked to his brother for guidance, who looked just as lost as he felt. The girl sat in the middle, still pale, following him blindly. 

“Wait!... You hear that?” Merle held up a finger to silence him as he rolled down his window and stuck his head out. After a moment, he sat back in his seat and turned to Daryl with a look of terror on his face. “It’s fuckin’ jets, man.. Bombs are fixin’ to drop!” 

“What?!” The girl sitting in the middle panicked.

“They just announced the shit on the radio like twenty minutes ago! Nobody’s had time to get out!” Daryl stated, on the verge of a full blown panic attack. 

Merle, however, looked completely defeated as he shook his head, “Think that’s the point, little brother.. nobody’s supposed to get out. They want this shit contained.”

The cab of the truck fell completely silent as the reality of what Merle said sunk in. Daryl pulled over on the empty side road he had been racing down. 

“So.. we.. just die?” The girl cried as she looked back and forth between the brothers.

Daryl looked across to Merle, hoping he would have some answers. Merle looked back to him with a sad expression as he shrugged his shoulder. He had never seen his brother look so hopeless. The girl cupped her hands over her mouth and silently cried into it. Daryl didn’t know what to say to her. He had saved her from getting eaten, only for her to get blown up. He didn’t know this girl; didn’t owe anything to her, but he still felt responsible for her for some reason. 

He looked out of the front window and his eyes caught on an older building. It was made of brick and only had one floor. Daryl pointed to it as he looked over to Merle. “There! We can hide out in there! It’s on the outskirts of town. Might be far enough away from the blasts to stay standing!”

Merle followed his line of sight and nodded his head in approval. “Alright, kid. Better than sittin’ in here.” Merle opened his door and climbed out.

Daryl climbed out and followed Merle to the back of the truck where he was grabbing all of their hunting and camping gear. “Ain’t leaving’ this behind,” he told Daryl, tossing him his gear. Daryl nodded as he slid his crossbow and bag onto his back. 

“I can carry something,” the girl piped up from behind him. 

Daryl looked over at her and realized just how small she was. She looked like she might weigha hundred pounds, soaking wet. He didn’t want to trust her with his stuff, but he didn’t want to tell her that. “Nah, we got it,” he settled with as he shut the tailgate. 

Checking their surroundings to make sure they were alone, Daryl led them across the road towards the store. Figuring the door would be locked, he pulled out his knife and used it to help him break in. Right as he got it open, a loud whistling echoing through the air had them all turning. Red and yellow lit up the sky and a thunderous boom shook the ground. Merle shoved them all through the open door as bombs started dropping throughout the city. 

Merle blocked the door with a filing cabinet that was off to the side and flicked on the light switch as he turned to Daryl, “Check the place out.. see if any of those biters are in here.”

Daryl nodded his head, but as soon as he turned to investigate the building, another explosion shook the ground and cut all of the power off. A small hand clung to his arm as soon as the lights went off, and Daryl nearly jerked away. Looking down at the shadow next to him, he realized it had just been the girl reaching out to him in fear. “It’s alright.. bombs just knocked out the power,” he told her gently, trying not to get irritated at her panic. He couldn’t deal with that right now, not while he was trying to keep his own mind calm. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out two flashlights and handed one to the girl right as Merle switched his own in. 

Three more bombs dropped while they were clearing the building, which had them all freezing in place, waiting to see if that would be the explosion that would take them out. Once the building was cleared and the bombs seemed to have stopped falling, the three of them settled into the small office space in the back corner. With their adrenaline still being on high alert, they all just sat quietly with their backs against the wall.

“Thanks again.. for saving me,” the girl mumbled quietly from between them. She didn’t look at them, just kept her eyes trained ahead. 

“Yeah, well, that’s Daryl for ya.. he always has been the sweet one,” Merle chuckled as he lit up a cigarette.

She looked over to Daryl, then, and gave him a shy smile, “I’m Beth.”

Daryl nodded his head in greeting, “That’s Merle.. he’s just an ass.” Beth gave a small laugh at that, then Daryl and Merle joined in with their own chuckles.

“So, blondie, what was you doin’ out and about all on your own?” Merle questioned after taking a long drag of his cigarette. 

Beth’s smile faded before shaking her head and huffing out a breath of air, “I was with my boyfriend.. we were at a concert in the park.”

“He dead?” Merle asked simply.

“I.. I don’t know..,” Beth hung her head. “The band was playing.. but then the music stopped and all we could hear was screaming. Everybody started running, so we took off too. But then we started seeing people just attacking anyone they came across. They were biting them.. and eating them.. really freaked us out.. well, we got caught up in this crowd and something grabbed at my leg and made me fall. I lost hold of Jimmy’s hand. When I looked back, it was one of those people, and they were trying to bite my foot.. so I kicked it in the face to get it off of me, but when I got back up, Jimmy was gone. He just kept going.. without me.” Beth wiped at a few tears that had escaped before shaking her head in annoyance. “I got to the parking lot and his truck was gone. That one that had been trying to bite me caught up to me and chased me out onto the road.. that’s when y’all showed up.”

“Sounds like yer boyfriend’s a little bitch,” Merle shrugged his shoulders which made Beth laugh.

“Yeah.. I guess he is.” She went quiet for a moment and her face turned somber before speaking, “Think they’re done blowing up the city?”

Daryl lifted his head to try to listen for any sounds coming from outside before answering her. “I think so.. but we’re stayin’ here for the night. Ain’t no use tryin’ to sneak around the city in the dark with those biters out. We’ll wait until daylight.. figure somethin’ out then.” He looked over to Merle who nodded his head in approval. 

“Okay.. well I’m gonna try to get a little sleep,” she told them as she tilted her head back against the wall. “Goodnight Daryl.. goodnight Merle.” 

Both men nodded to her as Merle said, “Night, blondie.”

In the quiet that followed, Daryl found himself wondering what the hell they were going to do with this girl. He couldn’t be responsible for her. Hell, he could barely be responsible for himself. He would just have to convince Merle that they needed to figure out where she lived so they could bring her home. Surely he would agree that she couldn’t tag along with them. Hopefully he wouldn’t want to just dump her on the side of the street with a ‘good luck’. That would just be cruel. Girl would be dead within the hour. No, he wouldn’t agree to that. They would just have to figure something out.

And he still wanted to know what the situation was with these biters. The news said it was a national emergency, so this had to be going on in more places than Georgia. Was this something that would be taken care of quickly, or was this the fall of man? What was making the dead come back to life? Was it an infection.. or a virus, maybe? How long would they have to hide out? Would there be safe places for them to go that the military had set up? 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been lost in thought, but when he looked over to Merle to voice some of his concerns, he saw his brother was snoring with his head propped back against the wall. Beth had passed out too, with her head leaning slightly towards Daryl. If she moved just a little, she would be resting on Daryl’s shoulder. Normally, being this close to contact with someone had him flinching away. For some reason, which he would chalk up to exhaustion and the slight buzz that was still coursing through his system, he found he didn’t mind this girl being so close to him. Leaning his head back, he finally relaxed enough to drift off to sleep as well. 


	2. Killing the dead

The smell of smoke brought Daryl to consciousness and he nearly panicked at feeling a weight pressed up against him. He was used to waking up alone, but he calmed slightly when he realized it was just Beth. She must have curled into him while they were sleeping. Looking around, he could see that a small amount of light was creeping in through the window, signaling morning. Standing next to the window was Merle, smoking a cigarette. Looking back down at the sleeping girl next to him, he pulled away gently, so as not to disturb her. He wanted to talk to Merle in private. Holding her head, he lowered her to the floor and released a sigh of relief when she didn’t wake up. Getting up, he walked over to Merle, who was looking out the small window. Merle sensed his presence and spoke before he had even made a sound. 

“We ain’t keeping’ her, little brother.”

“Wasn’t gonna ask,” Daryl scoffed as he came up next to him, pulling out his own cigarette and lighting it. 

“Bullshit.. I seen the way you two was all curled up into each other. Don’t be goin’ and gettin’ no crush on her. We gotta worry ‘bout ourselves,” Merle shook his head in annoyance.

Pissed off at his brother’s accusation, Daryl quipped back, “Ain’t got no damn crush. Girl must have rolled onto me while we was sleeping.” Merle released a snort to show his disbelief but didn’t say anything, so Daryl continued. “What are we gonna do with her, anyway? Can’t just leave her.”

Merle took a long drag of his cigarette and released it slowly before looking over to Daryl. “Can’t do much of anything right now,” he said nodding towards the small window. Daryl shifted to get a better look outside and felt his guts twist at what he saw.

In the early morning light, he could see that smoke filled the air like a fog and many of the buildings in the distance were caught in a raging fire. Debris littered the ground from all of the bombs that had been dropped. Blood painted the streets, and chunks of human remains were scattered here and there. On top of all of that, the biters were everywhere. They were slowly ambling up and down the street, clacking their jaws together in search of their next meal. Daryl leaned a little to the side to look out towards where their truck was parked and his heart sank. A tree must have been knocked over from one of the explosions and landed right on top of it, crushing the cab. 

“What the fuck are we gonna do, Merle?” He whispered to try to mask his worry. 

Merle released a deep sigh and looked down, disappointment etching his face. “I dunno, kid. We’ll figure somethin’ out.”

“How’s it lookin’ out there?” Beth’s small voice called out to them, causing both men to nearly jump. It wasn’t often someone could sneak up on them. Daryl turned to see her standing, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. 

“Take a look for yerself, blondie,” Merle told her without looking back.

Daryl watched as she walked over and stood between them to peek out the window. He saw as her hopeful expression melted away to one of discouragement. She looked up to Merle, then over to Daryl. “So.. what now?”

Daryl didn’t have any answers for her, so he rolled his shoulder.

“Gonna have to wait it out.. see if the streets will clear some before we even think of leavin’ this place,” Merle said as he stubbed his cigarette out on the windowsill.

“How are gonna leave? The truck’s crushed,” She questioned as she turned to face Merle.

Merle looked back to her as he quirked an eyebrow, “So? We’ll find one that works and take it.” He looked past her to Daryl with a look in his eyes as if saying, ‘What is she? Stupid?’

“But that’s illegal,” Beth told him pointedly. 

Merle chuckled in disbelief as he shook his head and walked away. Beth turned and looked at Daryl like she was waiting for him to agree with her. Instead, he shook his head and looked back out the window as he took a drag from his cigarette. 

“Don’t think the law matters much anymore.”

Beth looked down sheepishly and nodded her head in acceptance. She was quiet for a moment before hesitantly looking over to Daryl and whispering, “What happens to me when we get out of here?”

He had really hoped she wouldn’t ask him that, not yet anyway. Not before he had an answer for her. He hadn’t had the chance to ask Merle if they could try to get her home. Reverting back to his nervous habit, he pulled his bottom lip in and chewed on it for a moment before looking back to her, his expression saying that he didn’t have an answer. 

She tried to mask the disappointment as she looked away, but Daryl could see it anyway. He wished he could give her some kind of hope, but he knew, ultimately, he would do whatever Merle said they would do. Before either of them could say anything, a scream echoed throughout street, causing them to jump and look out for the disturbance. 

A man was running across the road as three biters trailed behind him. The sound had the rest of the biters in the area turning in excitement and going after their meal. 

Beth reached out and grabbed Daryl’s arm. “We have to help him,” she said in desperation as she made to move towards the door. 

Daryl grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her before she could move more than two steps away. “Hell no! Can’t go out there! There’s gotta be at least twenty of ‘em.. They’ll tear us to shreds!”

She pulled away as she looked at him in anger, “We can’t just leave him!”

Merle appeared behind her, effectively blocking the door when she turned to try to open it.

“Move!” She begged.

“It’s either him or us, blondie. And I ain’t gettin eaten today,” he told her with an air of finality. 

The terrified scream turned to an injured one before the street went quiet and all three of them knew that the man was gone. Beth shook as a few tears fell down her face. Shaking her head, she turned and walked away from them without another word. 

Merle looked back to Daryl and told him in a hushed tone so that he wouldn’t be overheard, “That right there is why we ain’t keepin’ her,” he pointed at her retreating back. “Girl’s gonna get us killed.”

Daryl rolled his eyes in annoyance, “Don’t be a dick, Merle. She’s just scared.”

“Yeah, well she better toughen up real quick.”

Daryl turned without another word, knowing it was pointless to argue this with his brother. Walking further into the building, he found Beth in one of the side offices, digging in the drawers of a desk. He could tell she was upset but was trying to hide it. Not knowing why, he felt the need to explain himself to her.

“Look.. there wasn’t anything we coulda done. Them biters would have been on us before we could have gotten to him.”

“I get it, okay?” She told him without looking up. Her shoulders slumped, but she kept digging. “It was stupid of me to try to go out there. I.. I just didn’t want him to die. I thought I could help him the way you helped me.” She sat still for a moment before closing one drawer and opening another. 

Daryl watched as she dug around, not knowing how to respond to that. He had expected her to still be pissed, but she wasn’t. She just looked defeated. Instead of trying to push the subject, he decided to switch gears altogether.

“Whatcha lookin’ for?”

“A snack.. or something to drink,” she shrugged. 

“I got some water in my bag.. and some protein bars,” he told her, feeling like an ass for not having offered it before. He wasn’t a gentleman by any means, but he should have realized that she needed refreshments sooner.

“You don’t mind sharing?” She asked cautiously.

“What? You think we’re just gonna let you starve or somethin?” He asked, feeling slightly offended. He wasn’t his pa, damnit. That son of a bitch would have kept it all for himself. 

“I heard what Merle said.. I know y’all aren’t planning on keeping me around. Gonna have to figure out how to take care of myself sooner or later,” she said, looking even more grim than the night before. 

Daryl felt the guilt creep up at finding out she had overheard him and Merle and looked away from her sad eyes. “We’re gonna figure something out, okay?” He told her. “Ain’t gonna just drop ya on the side of the road or nothin’. I’m gonna talk to Merle. See if we can try to get you home, or close to it.”

He could see from the corner of his eyes that she perked up as she looked at him. “Really?”

“Like I said, we’ll figure something out.” Beth nodded her head in acceptance. “Now come on, let’s get you something to eat.” He tilted his head back towards the main room, and Beth got up to follow. 

Once inside the main room of the building, Daryl walked over to his bag, noticing Merle was no longer hanging around. Opening his bag, he handed Beth a water bottle and one of the snack bars. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled as she opened the bottle and took a big swig.

“Don’t drink too much,” Daryl told her, and Beth quickly lowered the bottle.

“Sorry,” she said, offering the bottle back to him. She looked embarrassed and Daryl realized she had misunderstood him.

“No.. I just meant.. don’t know how long we’ll be here. Just need to try to conserve it, ya know?”

Beth nodded her head as she blushed and looked down at the snack bar. After weighing it in her hand, she offered it back to Daryl. When he looked at her questioningly, she shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll be okay for now.. we should save it.”

Daryl felt like a jerk for having made her think she shouldn’t eat or drink. He hadn’t meant for her to take it that way, but he had a feeling she would refuse the food if he told her to eat it. Figuring he would make her a little more comfortable with it, he offered, “How ‘bout we share it?” 

Beth bit her lip as she considered his proposal before her stomach gave a loud growl. Without waiting for her answer, Daryl tore the wrapper open and broke a small chunk off for himself and handed the rest to her. She smiled sheepishly before accepting it. 

Daryl really couldn’t understand why he felt so responsible for this girl. He hardly knew her, but for some reason she just felt important. Maybe it was just due to the fact that he had saved her and she had nowhere else to go. Or maybe because she was the first girl who hadn’t really looked at him in disgust. Before he could think on it any longer, a large crash inside the building had them both turning to look for the noise. 

Merle came running out of the small hallway that led to the back. “GO! GO! GO!”

Not wasting a moment, Daryl slung his bag and his crossbow onto his back at the same time Beth threw Merle’s bag over her shoulder. All three raced to the front door and right as Daryl opened it, one of the biters tried pushing their way in. He jerked the door shut and turned to look for another way out when three biters came stumbling down the hallway, clacking their jaws at them. 

Pushing Beth behind him, Daryl pulled his large hunting knife out of its sheath and charged at the biters, hearing Beth scream in panic as he made contact and started stabbing the first one he crossed. He stabbed it three times in the gut, but the damn thing wouldn’t go down. Another one was closing in on him, so he shoved the first one away. Before he could go after the second one, Merle was on top of it with his own knife, stabbing it in the chest. Daryl turned back to the first biter in time to see it coming right back at him, having not lost any speed from his initial attack.

“They ain’t going down!” He yelled out in a panic to his brother.

“I can fuckin’ see that!” Merle yelled back. 

Beth’s scream cut across the building, and Daryl looked over his shoulder to see Beth fall to the floor with the third biter, pushing and kicking to get it off of her. His panic intensified at the sight of her going down, so in a last ditch effort, he stabbed the biter he was holding onto right through the eye. The thing crumpled to the ground, seemingly dead again. Not taking the time to try to understand, he made a dash for the one on top of Beth as he yelled over his shoulder to Merle, “Go for the head!”

Throwing his shoulder into it, the biter went toppling off of Beth. Before it could recover, Daryl shoved his knife through its skull, hoping the same tactic would be effective for all of them. To his relief, the thing slumped over, no longer trying to attack. Beth scrambled away from the biter and reached for Daryl who pulled her to her feet. He froze when she instantly threw her arms around his neck. Her whole body was shaking, so he cupped her elbows in his best effort to comfort her. Looking over his shoulder, he was unsurprised to see Merle standing over the re-dead biter that he had taken out. Pulling back from Beth, he turned his attention to the hallway to make sure no more were going to come through.

“How the fuck did they get in?” He spat out, his adrenaline still running high.

Merle took off down the hallway without a word and Daryl followed. He could see the daylight coming in through the open back door right before Merle slammed it shut and turned back to him. 

“I opened it to see if the damn coast was clear.. these fuckers were standing right there.. grabbed the damn door before I could shut it.” 

The sound of glass breaking had both men turning and racing back to the main room. Clearing the hallway, Daryl saw that the front window had been broken and two biters were trying to push their way through. Beth stood frozen in place, too afraid to move. He reached out to grab her hand and pull her along with him. The contact startled her and made her jump, but she recovered quickly and followed him back to the rear of the building. 

They all stopped at the back door and Merle grabbed the handle. He looked back to them as he counted down from his fingers and him and Daryl raised their knives.

“3.. 2.. 1..”

Taking a deep breath, he slung the door open and they ran outside, prepared for a fight. Thankfully, the back alley was empty. 

“Where we going, Merle?” Daryl quickly whispered, not wanting to stay outside too long. They needed to find somewhere safe so that they could come up with a plan.

Merle looked around to take in their surroundings. Thinking on it for a moment, he seemed to come up with a decision because he nodded to himself before looking back at Daryl. “Merlin’s ain’t too far from here.. should be good. Only windows are up high. Just the front and back door to secure.”

Reluctantly, Daryl agreed. It was close and he knew the bar owner had kept a shotgun somewhere in the building as well, so that would be a plus. He just hated that particular bar. It had been one of their pa’s favorite hang-outs, and he would often tell them stories about women he had picked up from there or fights he had gotten into.

Daryl took the lead and started walking in the direction of the bar, constantly looking around for any threats and keeping his knife at the ready. It was only three blocks away and they could have made it there in a matter of minutes on a normal day, but Daryl stuck to the back alleys. Moving slowly, he would check around corners before signaling for Merle and Beth to follow. 

After crossing the last alley, Daryl turned back to tell them the coast was clear, only to see a biter stumbling out of an open door way towards Beth. His eyes went wide and he fought the urge to yell, not wanting to bring the whole city down on them. Merle must have sensed his panic because he quickly turned and pushed Beth out of the way. Shoving the biter up against the wall, he pushed his knife through its skull. Grabbing Beth’s hand to help her up, they dashed across the alleyway to meet up with Daryl. 

Bending over to catch her breath from the close-call, Beth looked up to Merle, “Thanks.”

Merle shrugged his shoulders to try to act nonchalantly as he muttered, “Yeah, well.. ya got my bag.. so.. was saving it, not you.” He looked away, making it seem like he could care less about her.Daryl could tell from his reaction that his brother was just putting up a front, though, and had actually been worried for the girl.

Beth must have sensed his demeanor as well because she didn’t look offended. Instead, she gave a playful smile and small roll of her eyes before looking away, “Okay.”

Finally reaching the back door of the bar, Daryl tried the handle and found it to be unlocked. Unsure if this was a good sign or not, he decided he definitely didn’t want Beth going inside without a weapon. They needed to find her something soon. Looking around, he found a discarded cardboard box that was still in good shape.

“Beth.. look.. get under this box. Me and Merle are gonna clear the building. Once we know it’s all good, we’ll come back out and get you.”

Her eyes went wide with fright and she opened her mouth to argue, but Merle cut in. “He’s right, blondie.. y’aint got no weapon. Nothin to defend yerself with. Building ain’t big.. we’ll be right back. Coast is clear out here for now. Stay hidden and nothin will see ya.”

Beth could tell she wasn’t going to win this argument, but still had to voice her concerns. “What if you don’t come back?”

Merle gave a small chuckle before winking and telling her, “Girl.. ain’t nothin can kill Merle but Merle.”

Beth didn’t laugh at his joke but nodded her head in acceptance as she crouched down for Daryl to place the box over her. Right before covering her, he could see her body trembling.

“Hey.. two minutes, alright? I’ll be right back,” he tried to reassure her. Hell, he wasn’t a big fan of his plan either, but this was the safest thing he could come up with at the moment. The place could be swarming with biters, and he’d rather her be out here where she could run if she needed to.

Beth took a deep breath and whispered back, “Two minutes.”

Daryl nodded as he covered the box around her and stood back up. Looking back at Merle, they both raised their knives as he cracked the door open. Not hearing or seeing anything, they walked in quietly. Merle gave a loud whistle that had Daryl turning back to him with a questioning glare.

“If they’re in here, they’ll come to the sound. Rather them come to us than us stumble onto them,” he said with a shrug. Daryl nodded and thought it was a good idea, so he turned his head to listen for any footsteps or growls and was met with silence. Other than the main bar area, the only other rooms were the stock room with a connected office and restroom, so they decided to split up and each take a section. 

Daryl took the stock room and was relieved to find it empty of walkers but full of refreshments. Two cases of bottled water sat on the floor and bags of chips and snacks lined the shelves. It wasn’t a meal, but it would be something to fill their stomachs for the moment. Opening the door to the office, Daryl found it empty as well and decided he would come back after they were all situated and search the room for the gun.

He walked back into the main room at the same time as Merle who shrugged and said the place was clear. Leaving him to make sure the front door was locked, Daryl raced back out to retrieve Beth. Thankfully, the alley was still clear. Not thinking, he quickly lifted the box, only to be be shoved back forcefully and landed on his ass. 

“Oh my God, Daryl! I’m so sorry!” Beth covered her mouth in shock. 

Surprised at the amount of force she had for being so tiny, Daryl let out a chuckle as he looked at her worried face, “It’s fine, girl. My fault.. shoulda warned ya it was me.” He stood and looked around to make sure the noise hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. Seeing that the coast was clear, he tilted his head towards the door. “Come on, place is empty.”

Following behind her, he closed and locked the door, hoping they would have a chance to rest from their hectic morning and figure out what their next move would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the love! I’m so excited for this trio to go on their journey together!


End file.
